A skating instructor has been arrested for the alleged rape of a six-year-old at a prominent school in the southern Indian city of Bangalore, NDTV reported. The police also seized the suspect's laptop, which contained videos and images of schoolchildren being raped.
"We have arrested a man working as an instructor with the school. Mustafa, alias Munna, aged about 30 to 32 years old is from Bihar and has been in Bangalore for 20 years," Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar told a press conference, adding that they also seized a laptop and a mobile from the accused which are filled with pornographic material. "The laptop had videos of schoolchildren being raped downloaded from Internet. This shows his state of mind," the Commissioner said.
The alleged assault happened on July 2 when a minor schoolgirl reportedly left her classroom and was attacked by two staff members during school hours. However, her parents discovered it only a few days later after she complained of stomach ache and was taken to a hospital.
Even though police had detained three persons during the course of investigation, this has been the only confirmed arrest so far. The accused will be produced in court Monday where the police will seek judicial custody of the accused, the police said.
The arrest comes after days of protest and online campaigns by furious parents even as police search for another accused in the case. On Thursday, hundreds of parents protested outside Vibgyor High School, pulling down its gates, shouting slogans and demanding that the school's management take responsibility for their children's safety, according to BBC News. "My child studies in Class 1 here. I don't even know whether I can send her to school anymore," a parent shouted.
The school has also been accused of gross negligence and putting their status ahead of the girl's welfare since the victim was reportedly asked to leave her class and stay in an empty room used for storing gym equipment as a "punishment" for misbehaving. The girl was allegedly assaulted there.
The case has become a hot-potato with the opposition demanding the Home Minister K J George resign over a string of rape incidents. It is also the latest in a series of sexual assault cases that have made headlines in India. Since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus, scrutiny of sexual violence and rapes being reported to official authorities have grown.
